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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

1) Yes this is a Happy Meal Toy, of Obi Wan's Jedi Starfighter. I want to say it's from the Clone Wars Cartoon, since I do not remember this configuration from the prequels.

2) After watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution the other night, it will probably be the last time I get a Happy Meal in my life.

The current Happy Meal campaign is Star Wars and I think some other property that escapes me cause it's not as important as Star Wars, well actually this campaign should be wrapping up soon if it already hasn't. Back in the day I used to go crazy and try to get all the Happy Meal Toys I could and instead of just buying them flat out I would get them with a meal. I've said time and time again how Taco Bell ruined me during their Star Wars toy run.

I hadn't planned on getting any of these, I had tried to get the Burger King Star Trek set, but gave up after a couple of trips. My stomach couldn't take it anymore and they never had the ones I wanted when I tried to buy them out right. Back to these, I was strolling along the information highway and peeped a picture of the Yoda from the set, believe me it looked cool, so I thought I would try and get one. What I got was this guy, not bad, and after I opened it really was a lot of fun. If they haven't used this key concept on Hot Wheels, they should. They could build the spring into them like they did here, it would be awesome.

Now why no more Happy Meals (at least Chicken Nuggets)? Chef Jamie Oliver did a demonstration on how Chicken Nuggets are made during his new show Food Revolution. He did proceed his demo by saying that they are not made this way in this country. You know what? I don't care, cause after seeing his demo just thinking about those little golden nugget shaped chicken piles makes my stomach queasy. The demo didn't work on the kids he was showing, and he declared it a failure. Well, Mr. Oliver you convinced me, so demo one, nuggets zero.

Not that I eat that much junk food anymore, but when I did I used to enjoy the nuggets. I'm not naive, I realize they are processed and ever once in a while I feel is okay, I don't eat these everyday. I would probably be dead by now if I did, but I cannot shake that demo from my head, I wish I could find it online to show you. Another thing I cannot shake is that the school officials did not let their younger kids use knives and forks to eat with, they served items that could be eaten with their hands or a spoon. That just seems crazy to me, I remember using and getting knives, forks and spoons when I was Kindergarden through High School, that just blows my mind.

So some closing thoughts: This toy is pretty cool, smaller than I thought it would be, about the size of a Hot Wheels car. I'm now just realizing that to get this type a toy a kid has to choke down some junk food, sure they offer healthy snake alternatives now, but come on I don't think kids will eat sliced apples with their Happy Meal. I could be wrong, I hope so. Also, I wish Chef Oliver the best of luck with his Food Revolution. May the Force be with him!

Monday, March 29, 2010

I opened it up, yep, I tore open the package of the Fantastic Four Movie:Rise of the Silver Surfer, Silver Surfer action figure here and emptied it of it's contents and just tossed the rest. I didn't even get an extra to keep in the package. Earlier in my collecting career I would have just passed out if I heard something like that, now, meh, not so much. Granted if I can afford an extra and it's something I really want to have a packaged version of I might grab an extra, but lately I'm of the mind that these things need to breath, be posed and played with and appreciated.

So what does all that have to do with Marvelous Mondays and Silver Surfer? Nothing really I just loves me some Silver Surfer, go out and enjoy some toys today.

What you're still here? Okay, check out that board. I mean look at it, it looks like it came straight from a cover of a Silver Surfer comic. Like it's in perspective permanently. I really like it though, kind of fun to fly around while waiting for those crazy big photoshop files to save. You know digging this guy out of a tote has put me in a Silver Surfer kinda mood, I should do a grouping of Silver Surfers in the office...

Thursday, March 25, 2010

All this talk about Star Wars makes me well, feel a little bit Star Warsie, so thought I would throw some shots up of the awesome Lego X-Wing. This is a pretty pricey little LEGO set, and I have been wanting it for a couple of years. It always seemed when money was tight they had a ton of them at the store, when money was available they all dried up. So I guess finally after Christmas circumstances were just right for the perfect LEGO storm and I finally landed this set.

First up is the minifigs. You get a Luke and Wedge in X-Wing gear, R2-D2, a Hoth Leia, Bespin Han and Chewbacca. The set includes extra pieces to decorate the fighter like Luke's Red Five or Wedge's Red Two. That's kinda sweet, but now that I think about it LEGO may have made a mistake and included Red Three markings, oh well I guess you can just take one of the red bits off and you have Red Two.

I remember the first time I saw Star Wars and the X-Wing "locked the S-Foils in attack position" holy cow I though that was the coolest thing ever. I mean the wings freaking moved! I still think it's a pretty neat feature. What's cool about this set is there is a whole little LEGO mechanism that helps you do this, let's take a look.

The rubber bands are to keep the wings tight and not flop around while you turn the wheel at the bottom that drivers the cog and gears that turn two "T" like assemblies that are between the wings. As this T assembly turns it spreads the wings apart, it's really kind of a neat solution. I especially like how they made sure you had smooth surfaced bricks for the assembly to glide on instead of it getting caught up on a brick peg.

The front landing gear is kind of a cool set up as well and located right behind (not pictured) is a storage area for when you want to take a trip to Dagobah. It's also a nice place to store Luke's Lightsaber.

There's a spot for R2 right behind the cockpit so he can lock down that stabilizer. Which reminds me besides getting shot, did you see the shape that R2 was in when they took him out of the back of the X-Wing? That would be the last time I would ride back there.

Finally a nice fly over... Whoooooosh! Overall I like this set, the price was the only thing I would fault it for, but then again LEGO always seems to be a bit pricey, which when you think about it, it's not like they are reinventing the wheel every time. 90% of these kits use pretty much the same pieces, with a few new ones mixed in, do they really have to cost so much?

Oh well it's not like I'm going to build a squadron of these, though that would be sweet. My next set is one I have had sitting in a closet for a real long time and I think it's about time to build. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

That's right it's the 2005 re-released "Early Bird" Cardboard display. I had been talking with Brian from the Yesterville Toy Room and threw out my idea of collecting the original twelve figures from the backdrop, but the newer versions. Which Brian seemed to latch onto this rather quickly ( I hope I don't get him in any trouble and I hope he doesn't mind that I share this with you).

All this talk lead to us discussing the definitive figures for each of the characters. What is cool is we both have our preferences and while Brian has talked me into hunting down a new C3-PO and possibly a new Luke, the discussions have reignited my love for Original Trilogy toys.

So, I'm starting with this cardboard backdrop and will be updating my progress to complete this little display here in there. It's not a contest to see who can finish first and this may take a while, I may even have a slight head start, characters may be swapped for better versions, but in the end it just seemed like a fun thing to do. Isn't that what collecting is all about?

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

So I decided it was finally time to straighten up the home office / studio. It has been a catch all for more than a year and in recent months has approached hoarder levels of boxes of unpacked stuff and whatnot.

My first chore was to figure out where to put the BMF (Big Millennium Falcon) I acquired last year, on sale I might add and a gift from my wife. I really do not have a shelf big enough for it and the closet is jam packed with toy goodies as it is, so childish as it may, I decided to hang it from the ceiling. It's right above where I plan on moving my drawing desk.

I thought it might be fun to snap some photos as I get stuff in place, I'll spare you the before shot though, believe me it is bad, besides you can go here to see what the closet has in it.

Next up, while I was kicking it in the office I decided to download a couple of movie digital copies I had that I never did anything with. So I started the process, cleaned off some stuff I wasn't using on the iPhone and lookey what I can now watch durning my lunch break or whenever I want!

Friday, March 19, 2010

I was beginning to think Spock was buried in the snow somewhere in Nebraska. I was getting worried that he wouldn't find his way to a Federation outpost and arrange for transport to his next destination, but rest assured Spock's host in Minnesota has contacted us at Spockcation Command and he is there and getting ready to explore.

Until we get some more reports from the road I have a few picks from his stay in Nebraska. Spock was supposed to visit two states, Nebraska and Iowa, on this stop. Then the "Snowpocalypse" hit and he pretty much hung around Nebraska. Oh well good thing Spock has a flexible schedule. His host Chellie reports he had a pretty good time considering he wasn't dressed for hoth (oops wrong universe), I guess that would be Delta Vega. On to Spockcation!

Now, these first few pictures arrived with little explanation, then I found out that they were taken at a costume party known as the Groundhog Prom. That's pretty much all I found out about that, except that apparently they drink a lot at this event and out of the eight to ten photos I received Spock was in three, unless he was the designated driver (hard to believe given Spock's track record) or he was shooting the pictures.

Sister Chellie rescues Spock from a bounty hunter

"Mr. T pity the fool!"

Ah, I'm not sure if this is a costume or not...

After the party Spock was pretty much snow bound so he hung out with his Host's family.

"Yes I do see light in your ear when you open your mouth" Spock, always willing to lend a hand.

Learning the long lost earth tradition of bunny ears.

He did venture out to see the Cpitol Building in Lincoln, Nebraska.

"Yes, fascinating, but can I get back in the transport now?"

The back by a warm fire with a new friend.

I think that should be "I Grok Nebraska, just saying"

Spock should be back into the swing of things now that the snow seems to be melting. I'm looking forward to his pictures from Minnesota join us back here for more Spockcation and remember... Live long and prosper.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

... Wrise, the Lil' Demon Etrigan! This is the two pack from series two of the Brave and The Bold Action League that I had been waiting for. I never really followed The Demon Etrigan, but having seen him in action on the JLU and BATB cartoons I have grown to like this character.

These Action League sets are pretty cool, I tend to like the exaggerated style of all these type of little figures whether its Star Wars, Batman, GI Joe and so on, I just dig this type of treatment for a toy.

This set is pretty episode specific, it includes the Batman in his Dark Knight getup and the Demon from the episode Day of the Knight!, I think in this case the Demon was on the side of right as Batman was under control of Morgan Le Fey. The episode takes place in Camelot, where Merlin has transported Batman and Green Arrow back through time to help over through Morgan Le Fey and return the throne to King Arthur. You know your standard Batman stuff.

Besides the Demon, the Batman in this set is pretty cool, I mean armor and a sword, plus its Batman. What else could you ask for? When I picked this up and opened it I didn't notice, but my Demon seems to have a little problem under his pits. I'm not sure if this was a paint overspray error or if the plastic is having some sort of freaky reaction to air. Or he could be changing back into his mortal form Jason Blood.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

We cannot be the only people that celebrate our puppies birthdays? LuLu loves her birthday, she (and the other puppies) get a special cake then she gets presents, and she loves opening presents. They all do actually. LuLu has taught them all how to do it. So they all get a present no matter who's birthday it is.

This picture is one of my favorites of all three, and it shows how much LuLu is the matriarch of the puppies.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

My first Ugly Dolls, I picked up on a business trip. which now that I say that sounds weird.

I like this one the best out of the two, plus he's orange!

Yep, no pants...

There's really not too many places around town to get these here, so when I saw these while traveling I picked up a couple to see what all the talk was about. I have actually seen these at trade shows, but the Ugly Doll people didn't want to give any up. Now you can order them straight from their website, but I don't think I paid that much for these two.

This guy is called Ice Bat, and now that I think about it, I like this one a lot as well. Out of all the ones pictured on the side of the box, which is a blind assortment, I wanted a Blue Ice Bat and a Orange Wage. I didn't even peek, just grabbed two at random out of the display.

The next one I'm on the look out for is going to be Uglydog, reminds me of a certain Bulldog, but with one eye.

"Have you seen these droids? Hey! I'm talking to you. Ah never mind...bunch of freaks."

Monday, March 15, 2010

Get it? Iron Man is "Old Shell Head", but since he's on a PEZ I called him... Oh never mind. Back in December 2009 we were finishing up our Christmas shopping at a World Market, we like the candy selection for stocking stuffers. We had decided we would look for some little candies for our Nephew since the whole family was getting together for a Christmas Eve party and he might like to have some little things to play with and snack on.

I had spied a Spider-Man PEZ, a newer one than either of the ones I had and new he loved Spider-Man so that was my contribution to the haul, I had thought about picking up one for myself when I noticed one that had a familiar yellow and red look to it.

Freaking Iron Man! I'm getting old because I had no clue this was being made. I mean I'm not a full blown PEZ Head, but I do tend to check them out when I'm in stores and the geek community usually keeps me up on this sort of thing.

Now I used to have a pretty good size PEZ collection, but ended up selling off the ones I really didn't care for. I kept my first Star Wars, my Marvels and the DC Characters that I had found, a few other round out the smaller collection now. But Iron Man, oh he was coming home with me.

I had ate the candy, even though it's not the best and set Iron Man on top of the bookshelf to watch over my other toys and he must have gotten knocked over, because it wasn't until I was dusting that I found him on his side and realized he hadn't made a blog appearance. Even though this is a more modern mask, I'm really digging the classic yellow and red colors. I wonder if they will make a more gold and red to match the movie for Iron Man 2?

Hope you enjoyed this Marverlous Monday! I leave you with this question. What PEZ would you like to see be made? Anything, the sky's the limit!

Friday, March 12, 2010

I normally do not troll the Hotwheels or Matchbox aisle unless something like Batman, Star Trek or that damn elusive Ghostbusters Ecto-1 happens to be there.

But when I saw this featured in a post on Big Boss Toys, I knew that I would own one, is not a couple. That just happens to be the case.

I have always loved the look of the 914, released in 1970 through 1975, 914's were an effort by Volkswagon and Porsche to make an affordable Sports car. Which is funny now because besides the Porsche 356, it's one of the most expensive as far as buying parts for.

How do I know? I used to have an awesome little 1972 Porsche 914. We called her "the Mistress". My wife laughed when I picked these up cause I said, you know if I only collected 914 toys I would only have four or five in my collection to date. That wouldn't count a real 914-6 though, I would love to own one of these.

I'm wondering if my dad will check this post out, and if he'll recognize the signal lights, though the ones on the back would be wrong if you are going for a European look for this car. Also I'm a little rusty but I do not think the 71 had the driving lights in the bumper, of course it's been a while and that might have been the year they came out. Besides the paint color this could pass as little model of mine. Even the seats inside are what a 914's actually look like, though this one has the optional center console around the shifter.

You can't see it very well in the pictures, but it even has the little 914 badge on the rear end, it's just missing the "PORSCHE" letters on the engine bonnet.

This reminds me of all the fun times my father and I had working on the ole' 914. I regret ever having to sell her. I hope she's still going out there. Though I miss my 914, I enjoy the air conditioning in my Jeep, but if I ever went down the road of fixing up another old Porsche the 914 and 356 are at the top of my list.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Since I'm still waiting for pictures from Vacationing Spock's last stop (and hoping he's in the mail to his next stop) I thought I would fill your lust for Spock with a cute, little Medicom Bearbricks Spock from their recent release.

I love Medicom Kubricks, but this is my first from their Bearbricks line. Oh I have been tempted in the past, Dark Knight set and the cool Star Wars bears I'm looking at you, but it took Spock to bring the goodness of Bearbricks to the Eclectorama Casa. Bearbricks do share some similar features to their cousins the Kubricks. Like articulation, leg and arm pieces.

This is an officially licensed piece as well. The funny thing is they included Spock's ears in the deco on the head, cause you can't have a Bearbricks without the Mickey Mouse type ears and you can't have Spock without the pointy ones.

This was released in the last quarter of 2009 and can be found pretty cheap on eBay, the only other thing it comes with is a card that has the title of the latest Star Trek movie on it. I think its pretty cool and will make a nice addition to the Spocklection.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

It's 80º here in Texas with a slight breeze, the sun is out and the birds are singing, its pay day... oh, and Retro Heroes are in stock at Toys R Us. I took a little trip at lunch and picked me up a Mattel World's Greatest Super Heroes Superman (I've decided I don't like the "Retro-Action DC Super Heroes" title they call them) and a Minimates set with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man! How cool is that?

I then decided to do my heart some good and eat a Vegi Burrito Bowl and an Unsweet Tea, you see Sweet Tea is the norm for Texas and some places like it sweeeeeet, then I hopped back into the Jeep and back to work.

If I have any family reading this and wondering "what the heck does Charles want for his birthday?" I will take a SINESTRO or a LEX LUTHOR, they are packaged just like Superman here, hint, hint...

If you follow all the toy blogs you know already that Target was clearing this set out at $4.48 this past weekend. Matter of fact Reis at Geek Orthodox has posted his set online and I'm sure several others will follow. Like Reis I was only interested in the Batman figure in this set and at that price, less expensive than a single figure from the same DCUIH line including tax, how could I pass him up.

A while back I was jazzed about the Gotham Knight three pack and how that was going to be the only Batman from this line, unless I ever found the Blue and Gray Bats with yellow bat target on his chest, and it was pointed out in the comments that this one would be a far superior set, meaning more articulation for the Batman figure. But the price when these were released were crazy. Not now! True I was in Target hunting up some JLU figures from my list, see I'm looking for Firestorm and Classic Aquaman, but I was happy getting this deal.

"Hmm, Chicken Pop Pie or cold Pizza..."

The first thing I do when I pop open a toy is put it through it's paces and see which poses will look the best before putting them on the shelf, I was less concerned with Captain Atom and Black Lightning, more about the Batman. I settled on this, what I like to call "The Batman Thinker" looks like he's sorting things out. I just thought this was a funny pose.

A little story about my mad toy driven mind. This Target looked like it hadn't fully reset its toy aisle and someone had found a case of DC Universe Classics (DCUC) figures from the back room, looked like series seven, there was one of each of Aquaman (in his camo), Kid Flash, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold (I think it was the Modern version), Big Barda (both with and without helmet), Captain Cold and the Flash. I sat there thinking about picking up the Helmetless Big Barda.

I knew she was a variant, and it's not that I don't like the character but I actually prefer her with the helmet like in the comics, but since I'm not that into expanding on a line I do not necessarily collect with the exception of the heroes or villains I really like, and I no longer pick up figure because they are "rare", I couldn't see spending the fifteen dollars for the one figure.

Then I noticed they had the Public Enemies figures that are the same scale as the DCUC line. They had a couple of the Batman, I had been thinking about getting a Batman from this line if I ever saw one and they had two. Both blue, for a minute that threw me off, but I realized these were supposed to be the variants from that line. Then I thought, has a scalper or speculator returned a bunch of stuff? These were only a couple dollars less than the regular DCUC, but I let them set as well. I had to save my pennies for the other things on the list (shaking fist in the air). I thought about going back this weekend, though I'm sure they are all gone by now, maybe I just need to see. See how this stuff drives me crazy. Hopefully I'll be too busy this weekend to even think about them. Plus I want s to get a retro WGSH Superman, and he's on the list.

"What!? Are you crazy, you left Big Barda behind?"

Still made out with a great priced Batman and a couple of others at a great price.